The Hague After talks at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) spoke out in favor of an international tribunal against Russia for its brutal attack on Ukraine. In her speech to the Hague Academy of International Law, Baerbock acknowledged that the International Criminal Court (ICC) was reaching the limits of its jurisdiction when it came to such crimes.
For this reason, the Ukrainian government has been promoting the establishment of a special tribunal against Russia for months. The Russian leadership should be held accountable for the brutal attack that led to many more war crimes in Ukraine. February marks the first anniversary of the attack on Ukraine.
The exercise of the jurisdiction of the ICC in the case of aggression is subject to conditions that simply cannot be met in the current situation, said Baerbock, explaining why a special court is necessary in the case of Ukraine.
At the same time, the German Foreign Minister called for a reform of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which is intended to facilitate trials for an attack on another country in the future and make special tribunals superfluous. However, such a reform can take several years.
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Baerbock had arrived in the pouring rain in the morning for a one-day visit to the Netherlands. In the morning she met with the President of the International Criminal Court, Piotr Hofmanski, and then with his chief prosecutor Karim Khan for talks. In the afternoon there were talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Baerbock’s foreign minister colleague Wopke Hoekstra.
Baerbock had already discussed the possibility of setting up a special tribunal with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba last week during their visit to the city of Kharkiv, which was badly hit by Russian attacks.
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However, its establishment is controversial. So the main issue could be international legitimacy. Baerbock was also skeptical, but made it clear that she saw no other solution in the short term.
According to Baerbock, the possibility that a court could derive its jurisdiction, i.e. its legal basis, from Ukrainian criminal law is being discussed. “It would be important for this to be supplemented by an international component,” she demanded.
According to the Foreign Minister, a special court must be supported by as many people as possible in the world. As an example of such “international elements,” Baerbock cited a location outside of Ukraine, with financial support from partners and with international prosecutors and judges to ensure impartiality and legitimacy. The Hague is under discussion as a possible location.
Baerbock’s push is welcomed by many allies
Allies such as France, the Baltic States, Sweden and the G7 countries, as well as Ukraine itself, have signaled their willingness to support such a non-standard solution. With her initiative, Baerbock also follows the EU Commission. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had already spoken out in favor of a special tribunal in November.
The ICC’s chief prosecutor is already investigating Russia on suspicion of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
So far, however, Moscow has not been able to be prosecuted before the ICC for the attack on Ukraine or the aggression itself. For this to happen, both the victim and the perpetrator state must have ratified the Roman Statute on which the ICC is based. However, Russia did not do this. A process is therefore de facto not possible.
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In this case, the law has a gap, said Baerbock on Monday in The Hague. “It is clear to us that, despite this legal loophole, despite these difficulties, we need the very clear message to the Russian leadership and thus also to everyone else in the world now and today: that a war of aggression in this world will not go unpunished.”
During her visit to The Hague, the minister called, among other things, for a reform of the International Criminal Court.
(Photo: dpa)
There are already models for a special court of this kind. For example, one could orientate oneself to the Kosovo Special Chamber, also set up in The Hague, which decides on the war crimes committed in the Kosovo war and is guided by Kosovan law.
However, one problem remains: the so-called troika, i.e. the top leaders of a state, in this case Russia, cannot be impeached as long as they are in office. For this reason, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin himself cannot initially be charged, but only members of the Russian state leadership standing below him. However, the possibility of impeachment comes up if Putin is no longer in office. Investigations are also possible against the Troika.
A special institution in the case of Ukraine would not be an ideal solution, admitted Baerbock in her speech in The Hague. “It is what the name suggests: a special case.” In her speech, Baerbock therefore also called for a reform of the International Criminal Court at the same time, which should make special tribunals of this kind superfluous in the future.
In the long term, she wants to reform the Rome Statute on which the ICC is based. And in such a way that in future those responsible for attacks like Moscow’s on Ukraine can be prosecuted before the court in a less complicated manner. It should be sufficient that only the victim state has to be a contracting party to the International Criminal Court and no longer the perpetrator state as well.
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